Sly, having sang in a few choirs in junior high school, I recognized the tune when the album Meddle came out. I always liked the other-worldly feeling of Pink Floyd’s early stuff. Astronomy Domine and all – the Syd Barrett influence I guess. Not so much with their later stuff.
I didn’t know about the Gerry Marsden/Liverpool Fan Club connection though (thanks Paul).
Eric
KG6MZS
Wow—great use of “Fearless”! I’m sharing this video with my friends so they can get a sense of the SOTA experience. Thanks!
73,
—Jeff KX6I
I’m more impressed that all those people would fit in that station wagon. Then I stopped remembering what cars where like in Britain when I was 5 and realised that it’s an American car and probably the size of a British Aircraft Carrier 
That is funny Andy, I actually did LOL. But still 8 kids! Can you imagine the courageous fortitude of my Mom and Marion? Across hundreds of miles of desert?
True story: on that trip we stopped in Yerrington, Nevada at the first real “general store” I had ever seen. I was mezmerized by all the diverse stuff. After a while I looked around and didn’t seen anybody in my family or the Sterk family so I went outside and… THE STATION WAGON WAS GONE!
I sat down out front and felt utterly abandoned. Pretty soon the station wagon drove up and the door opened. You see: they had bought two packs of gum and, after passing it all out, they had one stick left over.
I owe the fact that I am not an orphan to Wrigley’s (packs of five) gum.
Eric KG6MZS
American station wagons, back then, were especially roomy because there were four-across bench seats, no seat belts, no child restraints, and an open space instead of a third row. Voila, room for a Krush of Kids or a Gaggle of Geese.
Elliott, K6EL
Elliot,
IIRC that station wagon had a fold-up, rear-facing bench seat in what we called the “back-back.” We fought over that seat.
…and, yes, long before seat belts.
Eric KG6MZS
I remember my dad buying a car in 1966 that didn’t have seat belts because they were an option. A bit later later he bought the seat belts and we fitted them one Sunday. All the mounting points where in ready, it was just a case of bolting them in at three places. You were meant to remove the front seats to make it easy. We didn’t and being about 5 at the time I had tiny hands to get into small places to fit the bolts. No problem getting a spanner on the heads just getting the bolts into place. That would be around 55 years ago I guess.
Seatbelts were not compulsory in the UK then. We used them once or twice in that car after all the struggle.
It was a family tradition when I was young for my parents to take a horde of screaming kids to Blackpool every year for my birthday. We had a Morris Traveller in those days. The afternoon was spent at the Pleasure Beach finishing up with a slow drive in the traffic jam through the illuminations. I can’t remember how many they managed to cram into the back seat and boot (trunk), but it would be illegal today 
. They were saints! 
I’m envious of the wide open space you have access to Eric! The complete opposite to Blackpool in the summer!
Andy,
We were lucky to have parents that gave us such experiences. I am extremely grateful for their willingness to travel with us. It wasn’t that any one of us was all that bad, but put 8 kids together and patience must’ve been required. We traveled with the Sterk family a lot back then.
In 1970 I was 14 and our family toured the British Isles, first in a rented Vauxhall station wagon and then a VW bus. The VW was a better fit for the 5 of us and I can see what MM0FMF Andy meant about UK vehicles of the era.
Eric
KG6MZS
@KG6MZS et al
Here’s a link to the backstory on You’ll Never Walk Alone and Liverpool FC.
Paul
Soon to be MQ0SNA
Is Gerry still around. I was thinking the band’s name the Pacemakers might have a new meaning now.
Now I’ve got Ferry cross the Mersey in my brain and can’t shake it out.
Great video. I’ve done a bus tour through some parts of Arizona and Utah but they didn’t let us out long enough to get into any trouble.
73 Andrew VK1DA/VK2DA
Hi Andrew, Gerry Marsden is a SK, died January 03, 2021 age 78.
Geoff vk3sq
and
Thanks Andy, I should have just gone to that topic and searched!
I’m old enough to have seen Ferry Cross the Mersey at my local movie theater when it first came out. It was double billed with the Beatles Help!. I just discovered that both bands were managed by Brian Epstein and both engineered by George Martin.
The song Ferry Cross the Mersey evoked that same poignant melancholic feeling of the Kinks Waterloo Sunset. Ah, songs of my youth.
Eric
KG6MZS
Eric,
I see your Waterloo Sunset and raise you one Lazing on a Sunny afternoon. Now its in my head, it may as well be in yours too. 
But thanks, actually.
Kink’s best 60s song is Sittin’ On My Sofa. Available on Youtube…
Wow Eric, what a great video. We love the remote West and exploring old ghost towns and mining areas. We spend a lot of time in DM08 and have had a 4x4 since 1991. This is our 40th year here and we still discover new places to explore, especially since adding SOTA to the activities. That is an awesome picture of the station wagon and gang. We used to get hauled around in a pink Rambler station wagon. Annual trips to New Jersey, Route 66 most of the way, all 6 of us, no motels, 4 days each way. My brother and I got the back-back because we were the youngest. Pee in a coffee can so we wouldn’t have to stop… I think we use to leave on a Tuesday or Wednesday so we would get there for Saturday night bath night! (I’m sure we needed it) Awesome video, very inspiring!
Ron, what a great story! We never did the transcontinental run but we did do a lot of national parks in the west. Glacier National Park was my favorite. My Dad built a car camping roof rack box and we would do 3 nights camping, one night in a motel. I loved it.
BTW I just learned that John Steinbeck called Route 66 “The Motel Road.”
Thanks for the flowers,
Eric KG6MZS
Amazing! Thank you for sharing your experience. Excellent choice of music.